Points of Conspiracy
by Danger Mouse 1979
Summary: The SEQUEL to The Princess and the Pirate. Things have quieted down and life is returning to normal... but new enemies are plotting in the shadows.
1. Chapter One : Quiet Beginnings updated

1Disclaimer – If you recognize a character from any of the Tenchi TV shows or manga, they are not mine. Everyone else is. No money is being made for anyone with this fic, so please don't sue. (I got nothing anyway.)

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"**Points of Conspiracy"**

Chapter One

Quiet Beginnings

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"C'mon Tenchi," Ryoko purred, her breath coming in short, excited, gasps as she wiggled in her beloved prince's arms "how hard can it be to take off one flimsy piece of cloth."

"Well it'd be a lot easier if you'd just hold still," Tenchi mock-growled, trying very hard not to laugh out loud at the cyan-hired girls antics. "Unless you want to take it off yourself that is."

"Hey," she countered playfully, "I'm not the genius who put the clasp in back where I can barely reach it, much less undo it." That said, the ex-pirate did what he asked and calmed down a little, though she took the opportunity to press herself up against him tightly, causing the young prince to turn an impressive shade of red.

"There we go." Tenchi exclaimed with a satisfied grunt as the delicate-looking piece of cloth finally came loose. Ryoko responded immediately by kissing the boy passionately, her feet literally coming off the ground as their lips pressed together…

"RYOKO!" Ayeka shouted from where she and the other girls were watching on the back porch, unable to contain herself any longer. "It is bad enough that you insisted that lord Tenchi be the one to take that power inhibitor off of you without you sexually assaulting him in the process!"

"Oh please Princess," Ryoko shot back, her golden eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter, "you're just pissed that you didn't get to kiss him. Besides," the cyan haired girl added as she floated upwards, "I'm in to damned good a mood to fight with yah right now, see yah." With that she blew Tenchi a kiss and took off into the sky above the lake with a happy whoop.

"I cannot believe that woman sometimes." Ayeka huffed as she watched the other girl disappear from sight behind the trees. "I do hope that she did not embarrass you unduly with her shameless behavior Lord Tenchi."

"I'm getting used to it I think," Tenchi answered with a laugh, his cheeks still red from the kiss, "and thanks for your patience with her today Ayeka."

"Well I suppose it could not be helped… though I rather wish she had not insisted that it be you to take off that device." Ayeka allowed with a sigh. "It has been more than two months since she last flew after all… and even I can tell that she has missed it."

"Why did you want to wait so long before you let her take off that inhibitor Washu-chan?" Kiyone asked as the group turned back towards the house. "She's looked like her old self for weeks now… well, other than her hair being only about half its old length that is."

"Just being cautious really," Washu shrugged, "she's never taken that much damage before, and I wanted to be sure that there were no anomalies before I let her put any more strain on her body than absolutely necessary."

"So that last threat of hers to wreck your lab as soon as she got her powers back had absolutely nothing to do with it then?", Kiyone asked, doing an admirable job of keeping a straight face.

"Of course not." Washu huffed, "the girl couldn't wreck my lab even if she tried."

"Well, if nothing else it has made the past few weeks somewhat more peaceful than normal." Ayeka remarked, her smile taking any sting out of the comment.

"Speaking of peace and quiet…" Washu began, shooting Ayeka a mischievous grin, "I haven't heard from Keith for quite a while, what's going on with him."

"Why are you asking me?" Ayeka replied, somewhat more harshly than she had intended, "I

have not talked to the boy in weeks."

"But Ayeka," Mihoshi interjected, turning her attention briefly from the conversation she had been having with Sasami, "didn't you call him yesterday? And the day before that, and the day before that, and the…"

"I **said** I have not talked to him in weeks." Ayeka ground out, interrupting the taller girl before she could continue. "I imagine he has simply been rather busy getting his life in order." That said, she strode ahead of the group and into the house muttering something about clueless blondes under her breath.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mihoshi asked meekly.

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Krit'lat had done this run a hundred times… and he had never felt even remotely as nervous about it as he did this time. Of course every other time he'd done this run he had been firmly on the legal side of things… not counting the occasional poached domestic bovine of course. Running one long-fingered hand over his smooth gray scalp he took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

He was a simple xenobiologist operating under a special grant from the Jurian Royal Science Academy and with the added cooperation of the major planetary governments of Earth itself. His people had been flitting in and out of the system for nearly a 100 of the local years at this point… there was absolutely nothing for him to be nervous about.

"Who do I think I am fooling?" He muttered to himself, his lipless slit of a mouth barely moving. He didn't dare talk any louder, least his high-paying… but highly illegal… passenger overhear.

Then he was at the checkpoint, his ships computer sending out all of the normal codes and documents automatically. He held his breath as the GP ship off his port-side conducted a brief sensor sweep of his own ship, his hearts so tight in chest he thought they were going to explode.

A single light on his control board blinked green, and he let out the breath he had been holding, his huge black eyes closing in relief. They were past… his passenger's shielding had worked. Stretching out one thin arm he pressed a single button, and his ship boosted forward, following a carefully plotted flight path towards the system's fourth planet, its stealth systems active.

The rest of the job would be simple… though he didn't envy whoever it was on the planet that had attracted his passenger's attention.

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The single most annoying thing, at least in his opinion, about being a werewolf was the fact that every time he changed he ended up growing and subsequently shedding, about a pound and a half of fur. Of course, the fact that he occasionally woke up in odd places with no idea how he got there was a close second. Combine the two and… well let's just leave it at he'd had better mornings.

Beep

At least he hadn't lost his watch.

Beep

Why had he set that alarm again?

Beep

That's right, he needed to pick up Erin from school this afternoon.

Beep

Wait… this afternoon?

Beep

How the hell had he slept that late… never mind… stupid question.

Beep

Fuck.

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"You're late." Erin drawled, barely bothering to look up from the rather thick book she was reading, as he rushed into the school. The holo-disguise that Washu had given her didn't change her appearance much, merely hiding her almost invisible fur, overlong ears, and tail. Her silver eyes were unaltered, and contrasted well with her dark hair and the tan complexion that the disguise gave here.

"Sorry kiddo, it's been a weird day." He replied sheepishly.

"A full hour late." She added in a voice that was much to calm to be normal, still seemingly absorbed in her book. He recognized the tone; it was the one she always got when she was upset but didn't want to admit it. Though it had been a month, he didn't think that she quite believed that her new family really wanted her around… so any hint that she'd been forgotten or abandoned shook her a little.

"Tell you what," Keith drawled back, running a hand through his freshly washed and still damp hair, "to make up for it, I'll take you anyplace you want to go for lunch."

"Any place I want?" she asked, looking up from her book for the first time, her silver eyes regarding him suspiciously.

"Anyplace you want." He confirmed with a grin. It wasn't like he didn't already know exactly where she was going to ask to go after all.

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"How the heck can you eat something like that for lunch?" Keith's younger brother, Mike, asked as he watch Keith tear into a nearly raw, ½ pound slab of beef like he was starving. Mike looked a lot like his older brother despite the 5 year age difference and the bright red hair that contrasted sharply with Keith's own dark mop. That said, he obviously took after their bear of a father a little more than Keith did, but they both shared the same crooked grin and both had inherited their mothers laughing eyes.

"You had the exact same thing Uncle Mike." Erin pointed out around a mouthful of steak, cocking an eyebrow in a fairly good imitation of her father.

"Yeah," Mike conceded with a shrug of his shoulders, "but I only had one of 'em squirt. That's his fifth… and mine were at least cooked properly." Keith just grinned, stuffing another oversized bite of steak into his mouth.

"This is my second steak," Erin countered, indicating the half-eaten T-Bone on her plate, "and I'm only Ten… physically anyway…"

"Yes, but we've established that you have a bottomless stomach already." Mike pointed out, giving his niece… he still couldn't quite believe that he was an uncle at 16… a teasing wink, "Him I used to out-eat all the time."

"Uh-huh." Erin responded skeptically.

"Speaking of how old you are," Sarah, Keith's younger sister, interjected before Mike could regale them with any stories about his and Keith's old eating contests "do you have any idea when your Birthday is Erin?" Slender and fine featured; she had inherited their father's dark coloring, and typically kept her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Dunno." Erin shrugged, taking another bite of her steak.

"One of the many things I need to go see Washu about." Keith sighed, "But it shouldn't be too far off, Erin's about 10 or 11 months old as far as we can tell."

"Sounds about right." Erin confirmed distractedly, grabbing a menu from the middle of the table, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she wrestled with the all important question of what to have for dessert.

"Well we're going to have to have a party once you two figure that out." Sarah drawled, her dark brown eyes twinkling with amusement at Erin's preoccupation. Her amusement turned to confusion however when both Erin and her Brother turned their heads suddenly and sharply toward the front of the restaurant.

"You smell that?" Erin whispered, her silver eyes scanning the crowd of people waiting to be seated. Keith nodded, his own eyes scanning the crowd a little less blatantly, but not by much.

"What?" Sarah asked, following the pairs gaze.

"Someone in this place smells like me." Keith muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Like a wolf."

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It was nearly 6 am according to her alarm clock… that made it 4 in the afternoon where Keith lived. A perfectly reasonable time to call… besides, she could not sleep… despite the fact that she was exhausted.

This was starting to border on pathetic Ayeka reflected ruefully. She had left no less than four messages on Keith's answering machine over the past week. So why was she calling again? Yes… he was a good friend, but that was it... even if he had made it clear that he was interested in more. She should not be this anxious to hear from him after just a couple weeks. Somewhat startled she realized that she had already finished dialing… she had not even glanced at her phonebook. She had managed to memorize the number… wonderful.

Maybe it was the fact that Tenchi had been acting a hundred times more relaxed around Ryoko since they'd returned from Juria… and no matter how hard she tried he was still keeping her at arms length. It almost seemed that he had been trying harder then ever these past few weeks.

The phone was ringing. What was she doing? And then it was too late to ponder any longer… someone picked up the phone.

"_Hello?"_a woman's voice said, "_O'Connor residence."_ It took Ayeka a second to switch languages. Machine-enhanced speed learning techniques were very effective, but not perfect. It took a while for the brain to adapt to the new information that had been downloaded it, and until it had, accessing that information took some effort.

_"Ah, hello. This is Ayeka, is Keith home?" _even to her own ears her accent sounded thick and the words awkward.

"_Oh, Ayeka dear." _the woman on the other end exclaimed happily. Ayeka recognized the voice now; it was Keith's mother, her light, lilting accent was a dead giveaway. _"We were wondering what had happened to you, we haven't heard from you in weeks"._

_"I have left several message on machine."_ Ayeka responded, confusion evident in her voice as she twisted the phone cord in her free hand nervously.

"_Well that does explain things." _ Mrs. O'Connor sighed. _"Our answering machine has been on the fritz for a few weeks now."_

_**"**On fritz?"_

_"Broken."_ Mrs. O'Connor clarified. _"Keith and Erin have gone out to lunch, but Keith just got a cell phone if you want the number."_

_"Thank you much."_ Ayeka replied gratefully, wincing a bit at how badly she was mangling her words, she forcefully slowed herself down and thought more carefully about what she was trying to say. _"I would appreciate that very much Mrs. O'Connor."_

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"Can you tell who it is?" Mike asked curiously.

"Not from this far away and in an environment like this one." Keith replied, shaking his head with a grimace. "With this many people this close together I'd basically have to go over and sniff her crotch to be sure."

"Wonderful imagery." Sarah drawled sarcastically. "You're sure it's a girl though?"

"Gender's easy." Erin replied for him. "My nose isn't half as good as Dad's, but that's like telling if something's hot or cold."

"Then what are you looking for?" Mike asked.

"I'm waiting for her to pick up my scent." Keith explained with a shrug. "If she reacts…" he trailed off…

Turning her attention back to the menu in her hands Erin went back to the more interesting task of picking out her desert. Conversation at the table resumed, his siblings entertaining Erin with tales of some of his childhood exploits... and him countering every once in a while with stories about them. He kept one silver-green eye on the rest of the restaurant however, grateful that he'd asked for a booth in the back where he could see the entire place out of pure criminal-minded paranoia.

It took a few minutes for it to happen, but eventually he spotted a young woman's head snap up in surprise and glance around the crowded dining room. She was in her early twenties if he had to guess, with chin-length black hair and a trim figure, and as she glanced his way he caught an oddly familiar flash from her eyes. When she looked his way again he raised his glass in a half-salute and flashed a grin that revealed (temporarily) oversized canines. She apparently saw it, as she returned the grin and lifted her glass in return before raising an eyebrow in question and pointing a thumb at the front door. He nodded in agreement.

"I'll be back in a moment." He told his companions, standing up.

"Have fun." Mike and Sarah chorused teasingly, always ready to poke fun at their older brother's ability to attract female attention pretty much anywhere… and his generally inability to take advantage of it. Erin just rolled her eyes.

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"Well I don't recognize your scent," the girl commented as he stepped outside, her silver-blue eyes regarding him curiously. "You new to the area? Or just a loner?"

"Neither." Keith shrugged, more than a little curious himself, "Or maybe a bit of both… let's just say it's complicated. Hell, I didn't know there was actually anyone else like me running around out there until I caught your scent."

"You're kidding me." The black-haired girl exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "How old are you?"

"22."

"That means you've known about your abilities for what? 6 to 9 years?" she asked, though Keith got the impression that she meant it as a rhetorical question. He answered anyway.

"Three years." He corrected, watching her reactions closely.

"You manifested at 19?!" She exclaimed. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Long story…" Keith answered quickly, "**very** long story. So how many of us are there running around anyway?" he asked before she could recover from her surprise and press him for details.

"I think the number is something like 1 out of every 8,000 people." She answered, "Though we think that about a tenth of the population actually carry at least some of the genetics. It's all kinda uncertain though, there haven't been too many formal studies of the subject after all." She shrugged.

"Enough that most towns will have at least a few of us running around… and a big city will actually have a sizable population." Keith muttered. "Well that makes me feel a bit better at least." He added a bit louder. "The names Keith by the way." He added, offering his hand.

"Carrie." She returned with a lopsided, but genuine smile. That was when his cell chose to ring, trilling out a version of '_Turning Japanese'_, indicating that the call was coming from the Misaki residence.

"Uh… I've gotta take this…" he apologized, pulling the compact phone out of his pocket and flipping it open. Carrie just waved off the apology with a smile.

"_Hello?"_ he answered, switching over to Japanese, _"Ayeka! Haven't heard from you in a while. What's up?" _Carrie grabbed his hand, turning it palm up and scribbled something on his palm with a marker. That done, she gave him a quick wave and went back inside.

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"Hello?" Keith's familiar voice came through the headset, and despite how tired she was she smiled, a bit surprised about how fast the nervous knot in her stomach disappeared.

"Hello Keith." She answered simply.

"Ayeka! Haven't heard from you in a while. What's up?"

"At the moment, just me." she answered jokingly. "I could not sleep."

"Yeah… it's like 6:00 in the morning over there isn't it." Keith said, sounding a bit surprised. "Are you alright?" she could hear the concern in his voice.

"I…" she hesitated for a second, "I am fine."

"Liar." Keith accused jokingly, but his voice didn't lose the note of concern. "C'mon, what's wrong?"

"I don't…" she hesitated. "I mean…"

"Yes…?"

"I miss you." She all but whispered. Oh Tsunami! She hadn't meant for it to sound like that. "I mean… I…"

"I miss you too." Keith whispered back, though his voice was a lot more certain than hers had been.

"I did not mean it like that." She protested, though it was rather half-hearted even to her own ears.

"I did." He answered teasingly.

"I am really not up to having this conversation again right now Keith." She responded tiredly, though she couldn't keep a slight smile off her face. It felt nice to be wanted if nothing else. "That said, it has been too long since we have seen each other."

"True." He laughed. "I am unfortunately stuck in this area until Erin's a bit more settled at school, but I'd love it if you came and visited."

"Are you sure?" Ayeka asked, feeling her stomach knot back up again, "I wouldn't want to impose on your family."

"Not a problem." Keith reassured, "I just bought my own place. You'd only be imposing on me and Erin… and we'd both love the imposition. You can even use my bed." He added innocently.

"In your dreams." She retorted, glad he couldn't see her blush.

"Why Princess," he answered feigning shock, "I'm shocked that you would think I was implying something indecent with that perfectly innocent offer."

"You are about as innocent as I am blonde Keith-kun." Ayeka observed, though she couldn't stop herself from giggling slightly.

"Ah well," he sighed "I tried. But getting back on subject, I really would love to see you Ayeka-chan."

"Well…"

"Anyone else who wants to come is welcome too, we've got more space than we know what to do with." Keith wheedled. "Erin would love to see Sasami again. Hell, she'd love to see anyone that she can turn her disguise off around."

"I will see what everyone else thinks in the morning and give you a call." She answered after a couple seconds. A change of scene did sound nice… and she did want to see him, despite the general confusion it tended to cause.

"So, what have you been up to other than house-hunting these past few weeks?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Not much..."

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Click

The sound was almost depressingly final, and with a sigh she put the phone down. Glancing at the clock Ayeka realized with some surprise that they'd talked for a little over an hour… it hadn't felt nearly that long, and only the fact that he'd been all but physically been dragged away by his siblings and Erin (though Erin's shouted greeting had been nice to hear) had ended the call. Who knows how long they would have talked otherwise. They hadn't even talked about anything of any note after he had extended his invitation… it had been quite nice actually.

"What are you doing up this early Ayeka?" Sasami yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she came down the stairs, towel over her shoulder. "Did someone call?" she asked, noticing that her big sister was holding the phone.

"…Just a wrong number…" Ayeka answered after a second's hesitation, hoping her blush wasn't too noticeable.

"So Keith-kun and Erin are fine then?" Sasami asked, smiling innocently. Ayeka sighed, she should have known better than to try lying to her little sister like that.

"Yes, they are fine." She answered. "I'll tell you all about it in the bath if you do not mind waiting for me to get a towel." Sasami's smile widened, happy to see her sister in a better mood… even if the dark circles under her eyes made it fairly obvious that she hadn't slept at all last night.

"Sure." Sasami agreed, always happy to spend some time with her older sister… hearing how her two newest friends were doing was just a bonus.

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"I saved you some of my cake." Erin offered as he got into driver seat of his brand new 2005 mustang. Eventually he wanted to get a classic '66, but it was taking him a little time to track down one in the kind of condition he wanted. His siblings had already taken off in Sarah's car after the requisite round of teasing him about his relationship… or lack thereof… with Ayeka. His daughter, her stomach all but distended from the amount of food she'd pack away, had chocolate on her face and a content smile that reminded him of Talia so strongly that he felt his chest tighten for a heartbeat.

"Thanks squirt." He answered with a soft smile.

"So how's Ayeka doing?" she asked as he turned the key and the car's race-tuned engine roared to life, her smile turning slightly mischievous.

"She's doing fine." He answered casually, "I invited her to come visit for a few days."

"And…" his daughter pressed, silver eyes flashing in the dark.

"She said she'd check with everyone else and call back." He shrugged, most of his attention on driving.

"Laaaaaame" Erin observed. Keith just laughed.

"I think I convinced her," he defended, "it's just her upbringing that's making her a bit reluctant."

"You keep telling yourself that." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm just amazed that you didn't mess up and tell her about that phone number on your palm." She added dryly, though Keith could tell that she was trying not to grin as she teased him.

"Remind me to never leave you alone with your aunt and uncle ever again." He mock growled.   
"They're a bad influence." Erin just grinned.

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He was rather annoyed with himself. He'd completely forgotten about Hitomi's dinner party this weekend. There was no-way he was going to make it now and he hadn't even remembered to send an apology note. Well there was no way around it; he was going to need to get her flowers or something to make it up to her. Maybe he would make her dinner too. She was such a sweet old lady, reminded him of his own mother. Well, she'd understand, she knew how his job was.

With care he wiped the last of the late Krit'lat's greenish blood from the knife's thin blade… after all, he didn't want the simple steel blade to rust. He almost regretted having to kill the poor fellow, but it couldn't be helped… he'd seen his face. In the end, the best assassins were the ones that retained their anonymity.

And he was one of the best.

Checking once more to make sure the small survey ship was properly hidden; he shouldered his bag and started towards the cluster of buildings he had spotted when he was landing. Finding transportation there wouldn't be terribly hard… and if the occupants were lucky, he'd be long gone before any of them woke up.


	2. Chapter Two: Peaceful Pursuit

Chapter Two

Peaceful Pursuit

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"I'd love to OW!" Mihoshi yelped as Kiyone's elbow caught her in the ribs, nearly making the blonde drop her rice-bowl.

"I'm sorry Ayeka," Kiyone apologized, "we've got a mountain of paperwork to get through this week… and the chief is just about ready to have a heart attack as it is."

"I've got school." Tenchi explained sheepishly, setting his chopsticks down on his empty plate. "I've already missed too many classes this semester."

"That is alright Tenchi-sama," Ayeka sighed, poking idly at the remains of her breakfast, "your education is important." She had been hoping that Tenchi at least would come along. "So Ryoko-san, what is your excuse going to be?" she asked, giving her cyan-haired rival a flat look.

"Excuse?" Ryoko asked, sounding genuinely puzzled even as she helped herself to a third helping of rice, "I for one would love to go."

"Not a chance." Washu declared before Ayeka could think of an appropriate response. "You're not traveling more than ten miles from my lab for at least another month."

"Why the hell not?" Ryoko growled, glaring at her mother sullenly.

"Because your doctor said so." Washu answered simply, meeting her daughter's glare calmly as she took another sip of her tea. "And I'm afraid that means I can't go either Ayeka." She added apologetically.

"So it will just be me and Sasami then?" Ayeka sighed, feeling even more uncertain about the trip than before. "Perhaps we should wait for a better time then, one when all of us can go."

"Don't be silly Ayeka," Washu exclaimed, "Keith's your friend, go visit, have fun." She encouraged.

"I do not know…"

"C'mon Sis," Sasami pleaded, "it'll be fun."

"Very well then, I will call Keith later and tell him that we are coming then." Ayeka caved with a sigh, though she still sounded reluctant.

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"I though she was going to chicken out completely for a minute there." Ryoko mused as she teleported into Tenchi's room, noting with a little of amusement that her sudden appearances still made the young prince jump a little. "Especially after you bailed out."

"Not with Sasami as excited about the trip as she is." Tenchi observed, turning his chair away from his desk to look at Ryoko. "Besides, she called him every day for a week, that's got to count for something."

"They couldn't have been very long calls," Ryoko countered, "after all, the only one of us who even noticed was Mihoshi."

"True." Tenchi chuckled.

"You realize what the means though, don't you?" Ryoko asked, her smile becoming a bit predatory as she took a seat on his bed.

"I don't know," Tenchi replied, smiling softly, "what does it mean?"

"It means we're going to be all alone for a whole week." She purred, her eyes inviting as she gestured him over with a crooked finger.

"You realize that there are still five other people in the house," Tenchi observed, even as he walked over to the bed, "that hardly qualifies as being alone." He countered, sitting beside Ryoko and draping an arm around her shoulders much to her delight.

"Well Kiyone and Mihoshi both really do have work to do… I checked." Ryoko started, leaning into Tenchi and twining one of her hands with his. "Your dad's going to be at work in the city most of the week, and Washu's already agreed to watch Mayuka for most of the week." She didn't mention how she'd gotten her mother to agree to that, and Tenchi didn't ask.

"I take it that you've been thinking about this for a while then?" Tenchi laughed.

"You could say that," she admitted, her voice playful as she cuddled up to him, her free hand rubbing his chest lightly. It was then that someone knocked on the door.

"Typical." she muttered to herself. "I'll talk to yah later sweetie." With that she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and teleported out.

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"I am sorry to disturb you Tenchi-sama." Ayeka apologized when the spiky-haired young man opened his door.

"You're not." He assured, inviting her in with a sweep of his arm. "So what's up?"

"I was wondering if you had seen Ryoko-san actually." Ayeka asked, "I need to ask her if we could borrow Ryo-Ohki for the trip. I would rather avoid the local air transport if I can."

"I can't blame you." Tenchi laughed. "I think the flight to the United States on a jet is something like 16 hours long."

"And about ten minutes by way of cabbit." She agreed with a smile of her own.

"Well, if I see her I'll tell her you were looking." Tenchi assured. "I'm sure she won't mind."

"Oh, I'm sure she will not." Ayeka agreed, rolling her eyes. "Though I doubt her reasons are all charitable ones." Tenchi grinned a little at that remark despite himself. "Now if you will excuse me Tenchi-sama, I should start packing."

"When were you planning on leaving?" Tenchi asked.

"I was going to call him in a little while and work that out. There is a 10 hour time difference after all." She explained, "I imagine that it will be fairly soon though."

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"Yeah, he seemed like a nice guy." Carrie admitted reluctantly, wincing a bit internally as she saw her friend's grin get predatory out of the corner of her eye, trying to pretend she was actually paying attention to show they were watching. "I only talked to him for a few minutes tops though." She added hastily, trying to head her friend off at the pass. It didn't work.

"And yet you gave this guy your phone number." Cathy pointed out mercilessly, here curly black hair framing her mischievous smile and sparkling brown eyes nicely as she leaned closer to her romance-challenged friend on the big plush couch.

"There were extenuating circumstances!" Carrie protested, giving up on her feigned attempts at watching TV. Even to her own ears it was pretty weak denial.

"Good word usage," Cathy laughed, "but I'm afraid that "cute" doesn't count as an extenuating circumstance."

"Well he was kinda cute," Carrie admitted reluctantly, grinning slightly, "in a scruffy sort of way... but that wasn't why I gave him my number." She added, protesting.

"Alright, I'm listening." Cathy prodded, leaning closer, looking at her friend intently as Carrie rolled her eyes at her eagerness.

"It…" she hesitated briefly, "it has to do with that… furry… problem of mine." Despite the fact that she trusted her friend implicitly… and the fact that Cathy had know about her lycanthropy for nearly tens years and not told anyone… she had never felt comfortable discussing the issue with her.

"You mean he's a…" Cathy leaned closer whispering the last word out of pure habit and incredulity, "werewolf?"

"Yeah," Carrie sighed. "There's something… I dunno… different about him though."

"Beyond the whole…?" Cathy trailed off, an eyebrow raised curiously.

"Yes, beyond that." Carrie confirmed , rolling her eyes. "Not in a bad way or anything… but he didn't even know that there were any other wolves out there… and he's in his twenties. That's just downright strange."

"Well has he called you yet?"

"Nope," Carrie shrugged, "but he will."

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"Carrie?" Keith asked, feeling a bit nervous; partly out of the fact that he was talking to a fellow werewolf, and partly out of a vague feeling of misplaced guilt. "This is Keith… we met at the day before yesterday…

"_I was wondering how long it'd take you to call_." Carrie drawled, he could almost hear her smirk over the phone. "_Is this your cell or your home phone?_"

"Cell, don't even have normal phone service set up ion this place yet."

"_Cool, so I take it this means you want to get together some time then?_"

"Yeah." he said, smirking a bit himself at how direct he girl was. It certainly made things easier. "I have a ton of questions I want to ask you."

"_The feeling's mutual._" was Carrie's laughing response. "_Don't tell me that's the ONLY reason you want to see me though. I'd hate to think that the only thing I'm good for is answering questions._"

"Of course not." He answered quickly. "I can use every friend I can get my hands on." He added, hoping that it was a sufficiently neutral answer. He wanted to get to know this girl, but he didn't want to give any false impressions while he was still pursuing Ayeka. Though he had to admit, the blue-eyed wolf was a hottie.

"_Fair enough,_" Carrie laughed, "_not quite the answer I was expecting admittedly, but it'll do_._ So when do you want to get together?"_

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"How's that homework going?" Keith called up from the bottom of the stairs, rubbing his shaggy brown hair dry with a towel and attempting to keep the towel around his waist from slipping. He really hadn't thought he needed a shower just then, but Erin had insisted… something about not underestimating a woman' nose.

Normally he tried to avoid running around the house, or pretty much anywhere else for that matter, in less than full coverage due to the massive scarring that covered most of his lean frame. It wasn't that he was particularly embarrassed by his appearance, but it made other people uncomfortable… or more curious than he was comfortable with. He hadn't decided which reaction was worse. However, this evening he was in a bit of a hurry, so his normal modest habits were being partly ignored. He only had another ten minutes or so before Ayeka was supposed to arrive, and he had a feeling that the Princess was the punctual type.

"Almost done." Erin called back. "How much longer till they get here?"

"Not long." He replied starting back towards his own bedroom to get dressed… he only managed about three feet before he heard the familiar sound of a teleporter depositing its cargo directly behind him.

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Royal Princess's did not drool… it just wasn't dignified. Nor did they stare at half-naked, dripping-wet, ex-pirates like they were a slab of meat. At least not when doing so would only serve to encourage said pirate into acting like even less of a gentleman than he normally did. That wasn't to say she couldn't enjoy the view of course… she just couldn't let him know that she was enjoying it. Fortunately, the fact that she had had to cover her little sister's eyes a helped to hide that fact.

"You're early." Keith drawled, apparently not in the least embarrassed, though she noticed that one of his hands did drop to make sure the towel around his waist was secure.

"Actually Keith-kun," Ayeka retorted, "We are precisely on time. Your watch must be running slow."

"Hi Keith." Sasami said, giggling slightly at the situation as she slipped away from her sisters hands. She barely winced at all when she got a full view of his scars. "Where's Erin?"

"Upstairs." He answered, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, chuckling a bit himself as the younger princess skipped up the stairs. Erin met her at the top, waved a quick greeting at Ayeka, and the two girls disappeared into Erin's room, apparently eager to get caught up.

"So," Keith started, one of his trademark smirks sliding into place as he turned his attention back to Ayeka, "do I get a hug hello at least?"

"Get dressed and I may consider it." Ayeka retorted coolly, smirking back at him.

"Spoilsport." Keith laughed, heading once again for his room. "I'll be just a minute, so make yourself at home."

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"Great timing." Erin giggled when Sasami told her what state Keith had been in when they'd arrived. "You'd almost think we planned it that way." The dark-haired girl laughed, her long ears twitching with amusement. I just wish I had seen their reactions."

"I thought sis was going to start drooling." Sasami giggled back. "Phase one was a total success." the young princess declared, grinning conspiratorially at her friend.

"So what do yah have planned for phase two?"

--------------------------------------------------

"Please tell me this is not the original of this painting." Ayeka asked, a hint of legitimate pleading in her tone as she examined a vividly colored, seemingly abstract, painting on the wall above one of the room's two overstuffed leather couches.

"I have no idea… just thought it was pretty." Keith replied with a shrug as he walked up behind her, his attention focused much more on her than the painting in question. She had taken his advice about her clothes, and had worn something more contemporary than one of her traditional jurian-style kimonos. Her blouse was made of a lightweight material that probably would have been translucent if it had been any color other than black, had a modest, but not overly-conservative neckline, and wide flowing sleeves. The jeans she was wearing sat low on her hips, though not as low as they could have, and showed her legs and attached anatomy off to considerably better advantage than Ayeka likely realized. "It was already in that dimensional pouch of mine when I acquired the damn thing. I take it that it's worth something then?"

"You could purchase a battleship for less." Ayeka confirmed. "It was stolen from the Royal Art Museum on Jurai some 1000 years ago."

"No kidding." Keith mused, "Think your parents will give me anything good for it?"

"I do believe that that would be pushing your luck Keith-kun." Ayeka noted, rolling her eyes, though she couldn't keep the shadow of a smile from forming on her lips. "My father is still looking for an excuse to lock you up, and the last time I talked to Aunt Misaki, she gave me several detail pieces of advice on what to do if you got too forward."

"What kind of advice?"

"I assume you know what an eunuch is, correct?" She smirked, looking at him over her shoulder.

"Shoulda guessed." He drawled, wincing a little. "Well I'll send it back with you then, you can give it to them and tell them whatever you want about how you found it. That sound good?"

"I think it will go a good way towards redeeming you in my Mother's eyes at least." Ayeka said with a smile. "Now what is for dinner? Whatever it is smells wonderful."

"That Princess, is my dear sisters special recipe for chicken parmesan." Keith announced proudly, "One of the few dishes I can cook and not screw up… aside from barbeque anyway. And it should be ready in about half an hour."

"So what do you suggest we do until it is ready then?" Ayeka asked, one eyebrow arching slightly, and realizing the opening she had just given him she added, "And whatever your first suggestion was going to be the answer is no."

"So you don't want to play pool then?" he asked, feigning innocence. "I guess we'll just have to go right to the making out then." he sighed, draping an arm over her shoulders.

"Pool should be fine." Ayeka retorted, stepping out from under his arm, though she smiled as she said it. Despite herself, she had missed his flirtations… so long as he kept it to simple flirting anyway. "I'm afraid that you will have to teach me how to play though."

"No problem." Keith grinned. "Right this way."

--------------------------------------------------

He couldn't keep the deep frown off his face, his primary targets had left the residence. He had observed the house for several hours, and had nearly finished planning the hit… when his two primary targets had boarded that starship and left. The ship had come back empty within twenty minutes, meaning they were almost undoubtedly still on the planet, and figuring out where the ship had dropped them off with the scientist's ship sensors wouldn't be terribly hard… but this was going to throw his schedule off terribly.

He hated to do it, but he was going to have to reschedule his nephew's graduation party. Oh well, his nephew was a kind boy, he'd understand… but just the same he was going to have to see about getting a larger cake at least.

Well, there was nothing to do but follow. A job was a job after all...

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"Hey Dad!" Erin called, bounding down the stairs, Sasami close on her heels, "Is the food ready yet?"

"Where'd they go?" Sasami asked, her brow wrinkling slightly when they found the living room empty.

"Dunno," Erin shrugged, and then grinned evilly as she turned to look at the other girl, "Think we should check my Dad's bedroom? I admittedly don't need any more mental scars, but it'd save us a lot of work if they've already started boinking each-other."

"Ewwwww…:" Sasami responded laughingly, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a really dirty mind for a one year old?"

"I blame my father, he's an absolutely horrible influence." Erin agreed gravely, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I see." Sasami giggled.

"Ah, that's where they are." Erin muttered, cocking her head to one side, her long ears twitching slightly. "No new mental scars for us today," she sighed exaggeratedly, "they're down in the game room."

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"And you are quite sure that this is the normal way to teach someone how to play pool?" Ayeka asked, glancing over her shoulder at Keith, rather proud of herself for not blushing despite the fact that he had an arm around her waist (however loosely), and his face was bare inches from hers as he (theoretically) taught her how to line up a shot with the pool cue.

"Of course it is." Keith replied, managing to keep a straight face, though barely. "At least when you're student is a pretty girl." Despite herself, Ayeka giggled slightly even as she shook her head slightly in mock exasperation.

"I had a feeling that it was something like that." She said, smirking slightly, but she didn't make any effort to move away. "Well if this is the price I must pay for my beauty, I suppose I shall have to endure." She sighed exaggeratedly.

"Well I'm happy to see your ego hasn't suffered in my absence." Keith shot back, grinning widely.

"Awww… aren't they cute Sammy?" Erin called teasingly from the base of the stairs, interrupting any retort Ayeka might have been about to make. Just behind her, Sasami nodded in agreement, barely managing to keep a straight face herself.

"Lovely sense of timing you have there kiddo." Keith observed dryly, straightening up when Ayeka did, but his arm stayed draped loosely around her waist… at least until she elbowed him softly and stepped away.

"I think the food is ready Keith-san." Sasami explained politely, giving her sister a knowingly look before she started back up the stairs, Erin hot on her heels.

"We are on our way." Ayeka said, heading towards the stairs herself, looking over her shoulder to wink teasingly at Keith just before she dashed up the stairs after the two younger girls.

"Women." Keith sighed, rolling his eyes slightly before he ran up the stairs after them.

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It wasn't often that he had the opportunity to do anything even remotely nice on a job, so when the opportunity had presented itself, he had had to take it. He had returned the vehicle he had stolen to its owner, after filling up the tank and getting it washed. He had also left an apology note and a reasonable amount of the local currency as payment for its use. Of course the action would hopefully have the added benefit of preventing the man from stirring up the local authorities any more than he already had. After all, he less attention he drew to himself, the better.

Poor Mr. Krit'lat's ship was exactly where had left it, hidden behind a sophisticated visual cloak that made it invisible to he naked eye as well as any of the local sensors as it hovered silently about ten feet in the air. A few dead birds were the only thing to mark its location… most of them having broken their necks flying into the parked ship. He sighed slightly at the pointless deaths, but these things happened.

The ship sensors were as good as advertised, and even on passive mode had tracked and recorded Ryo-Ohki's flight path to within a few meters accuracy. Unfortunately, he had no doubt the other ship… and any other sensors that Professor Washu had set up… could track this ship just as easily. In fact, they undoubtedly already knew this ship was there, but he had chosen the science ship because it was supposed to be there and would not raise any suspicion.

Well then… he'd just have to continue acting like a survey vessel then… and within a few minutes he had set the autopilot for a carefully mapped series of locations. It would delay him by several hours, but the fake survey pattern would keep his cover intact… which was a thousand times more important than the extra time.

Some four hours later he had arrived… some 50 miles from his final destination, but close enough that he could go the rest of the way by ground transport.

"Now if only they will hold still this time…"

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"That was quite possibly the stupidest movie I have ever seen…" Ayeka drawled, still giggling a little as the credits to _Army of Darkness_ rolled by on the big screen TV. The young princess was lying down, her head pillowed on Keith's lap as they watched the movie, secretly enjoying the feel of the scruffy young man's hand as he played with her hair.

"Says the girl who spent the entire thing in fits of giggles." Keith retorted.

"I did not say it was not enjoyable…' Ayeka protested, giving his leg a smack. "I merely noted that Mihoshi's cartoons are more intelligent."

"Now that's harsh." Keith protested, "You just haven't seen enough bad horror flicks is all, otherwise you'd understand the brilliance of this movie." He lectured, his silvery eyes twinkling.

"I'll take your word for it." Ayeka laughed. "For the moment however, I think I would prefer to avoid any horror films, good or bad."

"Alright then, what would you like to watch?" Keith asked, smiling at her fondly as she turned her head to meet his eyes. "Action, comedy, drama, romance?"

"Well, I think I will avoid subjecting you to any romance films for the moment," Ayeka said with a smirk, "I would not want to give you the wrong idea after all. But something serious would be nice after that silliness."

"Alright then, have ever seen any of the 'Lord of the Rings' movies?" Keith asked, getting up to change the disc, Ayeka only moving to let him up reluctantly.

"Not yet, though I've heard about them." Ayeka responded, looking at him carefully as he retrieved the DVD's from the shelf. "Are you sure you are not too tired though, it is rather late for you, even if it is only late afternoon for me."

"Eh, as I told you back when we first met, I'm a bit of an insomniac at the best of times Princess." Keith said with a shrug.

"Ah yes, just before you dumped me in the shower and ruined my Kimono." Ayeka said coolly, rolling her eyes slightly. "Don't you have to take Erin to school tomorrow morning though?" Ayeka asked curiously.

"Nope, the school weeks only Monday to Friday in the States, not Monday to Saturday like in Japan." Keith explained, sitting back down and letting Ayeka settle back in place as he scrolled through the menus.

"Well still… I do not want you to feel obligated to stay up and keep me company all night Keith-san." Ayeka said, a hint of concern in her purple eyes.

"Ayeka, I can think of nothing I'd rather do then spend tonight on this couch watching movies with you." Keith reassured, earning him a smile from the princess as the movie started. "Well at least nothing that your father wouldn't kill me for."

"And once again you prove that you do not know when to stop." Ayeka sighed, smacking him lightly.

--------------------------------------------------

Compared to the Princess's previous location, this place had little security… perhaps their movement wasn't so much of an annoyance after all. Though their current host was a formidable obstacle in of himself according to the file he had read. He had always regretted that no-one had ever seen fit to hire him to dispose of this "Mayhem" fellow… his reputation for surviving even the worst odds had gotten rather famous in the underworld over the past few years.

Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

Silently he dropped from his perch in the old tree, landing easily on his feet in the soft grass at its base before strolling away casually and disappearing into the early morning mist.


	3. Chapter Three: Stray

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Chapter Three

Stray

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Despite his best efforts, Keith was asleep… and drooling a little, Ayeka noted with a silent smirk, yawning a little herself as she cuddled against the lanky boy… letting herself enjoy the sensation while he was unconscious and unable to comment on the matter. She could see the sky lightening steadily through the rooms small windows and bit back a yawn… she hadn't slept well the past week or so and it was catching up with her.

"I suppose falling asleep here would simply encourage him further…" she sighed quietly, starting to get up… stopping only when it became apparent that the arm around her waist had no intention of letting go. Rolling her eyes bemusedly, she grabbed his fingers, tugging at them in an attempt to make him let go, but only succeeded in making him grip her more tightly… his brow furrowing slightly as he mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep.

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"There's a good puppy." Talia soothed, arms around the massive wolf's neck, fingers stroking the thick fur on its back. "He's been getting restless lately." She added lightly. Looking at him, smiling in that way that had always made his heart skip a ffew beats.

"Hi Pet, long time no see." Keith returned with a smile of his own, walking towards them… stopping short when the beast turned towards him and growled… baring its fangs and stepping between him and Talia protectively.

"Hey!" Talia exclaimed, giving the beast a smack, making it whimper and lower its ears submissively. "Behave yourself."

"So… how long has he been in here?" Keith asked, resuming his approach towards the figure of his wife, one eye on the wolf as he slipped his arms around Talia's slim waist, kissing her lightly.

"A little while now." Talia responded with a shrug and a smirk as she kissed him back. "He's just not around when you are."

"Neat trick considering that this is my head we're talking about." Keith noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, you should hear the conversations I have with the other parts of your subconscious dear." Talia laughed. "This guy is just the most stable of the lot." she added, grinning wickedly.

"Conversations with my what now?" Keith laughed, kissing her neck impulsively, making her purr.

"Well your inner child is always entertaining." She laughed, leaning into the kiss. Neither of them noticed as the wolf started moving away…

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"Keith…" Ayeka said quietly, poking his chest a little, "wake up now… you need to go to bed." Tugging at his arm a little more firmly she added, "Or at least let go of my waist you letch." He just growled, and she could feel his fingertips starting to shift slightly, turning into claws.

"KEITH!" she shouted, giving his chest a solid thwap as the claws dug into her side slightly… not painful yet but starting to get uncomfortable.

"Huh?" he mumbled, starting awake… his fingers digging into her side hard enough to make her wince.

"Ouch!" she yelped, grabbing his hand, pulling away from him sharply.

"What? Oh fuck, sorry Ayeka." Keith apologized quickly, pulling his hand away, noting guiltily the long claws that had formed on their tips.

"May I ask what that was all about?" she asked, rubbing her side… noting with a grimace that even if he hadn't pierced her skin that he'd ruined her blouse. "I liked this blouse too." She added, glaring at her friend.

"I dunno, just dreaming I guess." He sighed, rubbing his eyes with de-clawed fingertips. "I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked, concern obvious in his voice as he leaned over to get a better look at her side.

"Do you always do that kind of thing when you dream?" she scowled, jumping a bit as Keith's fingers brushed her side through the rips in her blouse.

"Talia never complained about anything like this…" Keith shrugged absently, nodding slightly to himself after confirming that he hadn't cut his friend.

"Are you sure that she wasn't simply thicker-skinned than I am?" Ayeka asked, arching an eyebrow at him, a bit surprised at how casually he'd mentioned Talia… he normally didn't like talking about his deceased wife.

"I'm sure." He snorted, grinning a bit. "As tough as she was, she was a baby about this kind of thing. She gets stabbed in the leg during a fight… no big deal, but you'd think she was gonna die the way she used to whine if she scratched herself on a table corner or something."

"I see…" she grinned back, her amethyst eyes sparkling a bit. "Well I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you are getting weirder as time goes by." She added teasingly. "Though it does make me wonder what you were dreaming about."

"Nothing important." He answered dismissively, though she could she him stiffen a little at the question. "Sorry about your shirt, I'll buy you a replacement today if you want." He added, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Okay then…" she agreed, letting him get away with the subject change for the moment, obvious or not. "But first we should both get some sleep, I'm going to need at least a few hours if I want to be at all functional today."

"Sounds good… I'll show you where the guest room is." Keith agreed, standing up, offering her his hand. Smiling at the lavender-haired girl when she accepted, her small hand warm against his.

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She could hear her vertebrae popping as she stretched in her work chair. Some days she could swear that she felt every one of her 20,000 odd years in her pre-pubescent frame. Of course, it probably had a lot more to do with the fact that she hadn't moved from the chair for some 20 hours than anything to do with her objective age. Standing up with a slight groan she started walking towards the door of her lab, absentmindedly checking a few monitors as she went.

"Odd… Krit'lat is being impressively diligent this trip." Washu observed, "He hasn't poached a single cow yet. Wonder if someone told on him." Shrugging she considered giving the high-strung xenobiologist a call and teasing him a bit, but dismissed the thought as she opened the door to the house and the smell of something cooking made her stomach growl loudly.

"What's for dinner?" she asked loudly as she stepped into the kitchen… stopping short as she spotted Ryoko standing in front of the stove, an apron around her waist and her hair pulled back into a short ponytail. "A… are you cooking tonight Ryoko?" she asked nervously, trying not to cringe at the thought of her daughters past creations as Ryoko turned to look at her, grinning widely.

"Tenchi's teaching me how to cook!" Ryoko explained happily, stirring the soup carefully like Tenchi had shown her. "He just had to run to the store quick and get some rice."

"Okay, so long as your being supervised." Washu teased, relaxing.

"I'm in too good a mood to fight with you right now Mom." Ryoko retorted, sticking out her tongue. "I've had Tenchi to myself all day and I haven't had to chase him or fight with anyone even once." Washu just grinned, happy for her daughter... and too hungry to give her a hard time about it at the moment.

"So are Mihoshi and Kiyone back from patrol yet?" Washu asked, pulling a chair over and straddling it as she took over supervising her daughter until Tenchi got back.

"Nope, it's just going to be us three for dinner tonight." Ryoko said, sparing her mom a brief smile before returning her attention to the food.

"That should be a nice change from normal." Washu noted, getting an emphatic nod of agreement from Ryoko. It wasn't often that they had moments like this, actually acting like a mother and daughter… so Washu figured that if ever there was a time to get some personal information out of the girl, this was it. "So things are going well between you and Tenchi then?"

"Yeah… he's still being slow and clueless about things, but he's getting better." Ryoko confirmed. "We spent this morning in bed together." She added, blushing uncharacteristically.

"Oh really/" Washu exclaimed, grinning evilly, unable to resist the urge to tease. "Is he any good?"

"We didn't do anything like that!" Ryoko protested, her blush getting even deeper. "We just cuddled and talked. That's all!"

"Well that's no fun." Washu pouted.

"…I tried…I mean, I wanted to do more." Ryoko mumbled, the spoon she was holding starting to deform as her hands clenched. "He says it's too soon."

"That idiot." Washu sighed. "You know that that's just the way he is, right honey?"

"Yeah…" Ryoko nodded, "It's just kinda frustrating sometimes. I'm way too old to still be a virgin yah know?" she added, smiling at her mother and rolling her eyes.

"5000 years old may very well be a record." Washu agreed with a laugh, glad that her daughter was learning to take things in stride… and even happier that she was starting to confide in her more often. "I only made it to about 20 myself."

"Umm… do you mind if I ask you a question Mom?" Ryoko asked after a few minutes of companionable silence.

"Of course not."

"Am I even… well… sexually compatible… with humans?" she asked, eyes fixed firmly on the soup.

"Do you mean does everything fit the way it should?" Washu asked, raising an eyebrow, "or do you mean reproductively compatible?"

"The second one." Ryoko confirmed, blushing again. "I've seen more than enough to know that everything fits."

"Not naturally." Washu answered after a couple seconds thought. "But I can help with that when it's time." She reassured.

"Thanks."

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"Dad?" Erin called softly, knocking on his bedroom door, ears twitching slightly as she listened for a response. "You in there old man?"

"Are you calling loud enough for him to hear you?" Sasami asked from behind her, hand going out to knock on the door as well.

"He's got good hearing." Erin drawled, pushing the door open before Sasami was able to knock. "If he doesn't answer…" she said, stepping into the room and pointing at the empty bed… "it usually means that he's not there."

"You don't think…" Sasami started. Blushing hotly as naughty thoughts started bubbling to the surface of her mind.

"Well we won't know until we check will?" Erin responded, grinning at her older friend, sounding much to adult for her ten year old body as always. "The guest room is at the end of the hall."

"Do you really think we should?" Sasami asked, even as they started tip-toeing down the hall towards the guest room.

"Nope." Erin grinned, whispering conspiratorially, reaching for the doorknob. "That's never stopped me before though."

The door opened with a quiet click, and the two girls snuck in to the dimly-lit room… the heavy cover on the floor… and Ayeka sprawled across the bed in a rather undignified manner… but alone.

"Well so much for that…" Erin frowned, brow furrowing cutely, "where'd the jackass go then?"

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"Thank god for Saturdays." Carrie mumbled to herself as she looked blearily at her alarm clock and the 10:19 displayed on its face in big red numbers. Sighing she worked her way deeper into the pile of blankets and pillows that added a good foot and a half to the height of her bed and stretched out… and promptly yelped in surprise when something licked the bottom of her foot.

"What the hell?" she yelped as she threw off the covers and scrambled out of bed, grabbing for the baseball bat she kept beside it. Lifting the weapon above her head she turned scanning the room, sniffing for any out-of place scents. She registered the scent and saw where it was coming from at the same time.

"Keith?" she asked, confused, as she looked at the huge shaggy wolf standing at the foot of her bed, regarding her cautiously with familiar silver-green eyes… jet-black fur with a dark brown "cape" covering it's neck and shoulders, myriad scars underneath making it look shaggy and unkempt. "What the hell are you doing in my bedroom… and looking like that?" she asked, letting the bat drop to the ground.

The wolf just stared at her, a low whine coming from its throat as it sat down, head tilting to one side.

"Keith?" she asked again, stepping closer, kneeling in front of the huge beast, looking into its eyes as she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. "This isn't funny you know…"

Keith just whined again, managing to look amazingly pitiful for an animal that weighed at least 250 pounds and could likely tear a normal person in half without even trying hard.

"Anyone home in there?" Carrie asked, narrowing her eyes, growling a little in frustration at the lack of response. "If you don't stop this I'm going to take you to my vet and get you neutered Keith."

Keith whined louder, sinking to the floor and covering his face with huge paws.

"Great." Carrie mumbled... standing up and grabbing some clothes out of her dresser. "Just what I needed, a feral wolf to babysit on my day off." Opening the door to her small bathroom, she turned around, pointing at him. "I'm going to take a shower... you stay here and behave yourself till I'm done or it's the vet for you. Got it?"

The huge wolf, just looked at her, head on the floor, and sighed dejectedly.

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"No, it's okay Grandma… Ayeka and Sasami are here… you don't need to come over." Erin explained into Keith's phone. "Just call me if you see him… I love you too Grandma. Bye." With a cute growl, she snapped he phone shut, barely resisting the urge to throw it across the room.

"No luck then?" Ayeka asked, not sure if she should be annoyed or worried when Erin just shook her head in response. "Has he ever done something like this before?"

"Well he was really late picking me up from school on Thursday and he didn't say why." Erin shrugged, obviously trying to stay calm and controlled… but Ayeka could hear the slight waver in her voice and see tears threatening to spill our of her silver eyes. The way the girl acted, it was easy to forget exactly how young she really was.

"I'm sure he's fine then Erin…" Ayeka reassured, giving the obviously upset girl a hug. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." Smiling over at Sasami as Erin sighed and leaned into the hug…

"I hate feeling helpless…" Erin mumbled, face pressed against Ayeka's shirt. "He hasn't even been gone for very long… for all we know he just went jogging or sumthn'."

"There is nothing wrong with worrying about someone you love Erin." Ayeka soothed, "I'm sure he'll be back soon. He loves you very much you know."

"Yeah… I'm still not used to that idea." Erin sniffed, pulling back and looking up at Ayeka with a sardonic grin. "I think I like it though."

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A notable amount of venom from one of the local serpents, a couple of nasty gene-engineered viruses… and a large dose of glitterstim… a notoriously deadly narcotic that was most definitely not meant to be taken internally. Oh yes, it should work. He had originally not considered this route, not with the targets relationship and proximity to someone like Washu… but with here new location, poisoning really was the most effective method for disposing of the royals. They're defenses against more traditional weapons were formidable to say the least, but their immune systems were only slightly boosted. A toxic cocktail like the one he had put together would fell them as easily as it would fell anyone else.

The real question was how to deliver it to the targets. Typically he used simple darts for this kind of work, but it wasn't likely to be an efficient method in this case. Not with their personal shields. Oh well, it simply meant that he'd have to be a little more clever about things than normal. Placing the small poison capsules in a small pouch on his belt, he settled back to wait, watching the house where his targets were saying through the camera he'd hidden on the telephone pole across the street.

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Cathy yawned hugely, the sound of her roommate taking a shower running slowly waking her up. Blearily she looked over at her alarm clock noting the time. She was about to pull her blankets over her head to drown out the noise so she could go back to sleep when her stomach growled insistently.

Sitting up, she threw her down comforter aside, bare legs dangling off the side of the bed, stretching until her back and joints popped satisfyingly. Grabbing her robe to cover her less than modest choice of sleepwear, she stumbled towards out of her room into the comfortably decorated kitchen.

And promptly screamed.

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Stumbling out of the shower, Carrie could feel her teeth and nails starting to grow and sharpen a little out of raw instinct as she grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her still-soapy form and cursing a little as she stubbed her toe on the edge of the sink in the process... pulling open the door to the bathroom as soon as she had the cloth secured.

"Cathy!" she called, wiping suds and water away from her eyes as she sprinted into the living room… "I'm sorry, I forgot to warn… you." She finished with an exasperated groan at the sight of her roommate sitting on the couch, Keith's huge shaggy head resting companionably on her lap as he stretched out on the leather beside her.

"So where'd you find this beast?" Cathy asked cheerfully, ruffling the thick fur on the back of Keith's neck as both of them regarded her with bemused expressions on their faces. Keith couldn't actually smirk like Cathy in his current state, but she had spent enough time around other wolves to recognize his expression. "I don't think I've ever seen a dog this big before… and have you seen how many scars this guy has?'

"…just get him off the couch." Carrie sighed, resisting the urge to tell her friend exactly what the beast resting it's head on her lap actually was. Not that she didn't trust her friend, or think that Cathy wouldn't figure it out on her own anyway… she just wasn't up to explaining this early in the morning. "I'm going to go finish my shower… could you do me a favor and look around for my cell-phone while I'm in there? I need to give his… owners… a call."

"Your phones by the TV, no guarantees on getting this guy off the couch though." Cathy laughed as her friend headed back to the shower. "As for you buddy… you've got to at least let me get up so I can get some food in me." She added, giving Keith a light swat to his shoulder.

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"Moshi… uh, I mean, Hello?" Ayeka answered, switching to Japanese for a half-second before catching herself. Erin and Sasami were taking advantage of the oversized, Japanese style bath Keith had had installed so she had been the only one available to answer Keith's cellphone when it rang.

"…Is this the O'Connor residence?" a decidedly feminine voice asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Replied, a little more coolly than she had meant to, feeling a sudden a surge of unexpected and irrational jealously. "Are you looking for Keith?"

"Uh… I was looking for his daughter actually…" Carrie replied after another second's hesitation. "Who am I talking to, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ayeka… one of Keith's friends." The princess replied, taking a deep breath and reminding herself that she had no reason or right to get upset at the other girls question. "Erin is currently in the bath and Keith has… stepped out… for the moment. Can I take a message?"

"Uh… yeah." Carrie replied with a sigh, "Could you just tell her that I found her dog? Thanks."

"Her dog? Wait!..." she all but shouted, but Carrie had already hung up.

"Who was that?" Erin asked, walking into the room, an oversized towel wrapped around her small frame, practically dragging on the ground. "Was it my Dad?" she added, her big silver eyes hopeful.

"No…" Ayeka responded softly, "I forgot to ask for their name. Their number is on the cellphone though. Now, is it safe for me to assume that you and Keith do not own a dog?"

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	4. Chapter 4 : Rude Interruptions

Chapter 4

Rude Interruptions

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Tenchi stretched, a content smile on his face as the sunlight starting to peek through his window woke him up. Beside him Ryoko mumbled something in her sleep and rolled onto her side away from the intruding light. Brushing the hair out her face as he sat up, he leaned over, kissing her cheek and tucking the covers back around her slim form. She smiled happily in her sleep, murmuring something unintelligible as she snuggled deeper under the thick quilt.

She really was beautiful, even like this, with cyan hair even more of a wild mess than normal, a thin line of drool decorating one cheek. Even her not-so-quiet snoring was cute right now as far as he was concerned. Of course, he was probably a little biased about such things right now.

"I love you." He whispered tenderly into one of her long ears, giving her another kiss before he carefully slid out of bed.

Moving quietly, not wanting to wake her up, he retrieved his shirt from the floor and pulled it on before stepping out of the room, heading for the bathroom. They hadn't really done anything; well, at least they hadn't done THAT. They'd just spent the night sleeping next to each other and cuddling, but Kami he had wanted to! He wasn't even sure anymore why he had decided not to, it wasn't like she would have turned him down.

Stupid oversensitive conscience.

Business done, teeth brushed, and faced washed, he started walking down the stairs to get some breakfast… trying to decide if he could skip his chores for the morning just this once. He'd been up late last night, and the idea of actually having a Sunday completely off for once was very appealing.

"Hello Tenchi." Funaho greeted, looking up from her Tea as he entered the kitchen, making him jump in surprise. Misaki, her mouth full, simply waved. The two queens were seated at the counter, a freshly brewed pot of tea and a box of assorted pastries in front of them.

"Funaho-san? Misaki-san? What are you two doing here?" he blurted out, thoroughly confused, wincing visibly at the stern look that the two Queens shot him because of the outburst. "I mean, it's good to see you both." He corrected himself quickly, knowing that he really shouldn't be too surprised; it was a rare thing for the two women to give them any warning of one of their visits after all.

"It's good to see you as well Tenchi-san." Funaho responded, her stern expression fading into a polite smile. "Even if your manners seem to have suffered since our last visit." She added teasingly. She was dressed somewhat unusually by her normal standards, in clothing that could have almost passed for Jurian combat garb if not for the coloring, a deep vibrant red with gold and black highlights. Misaki for her part was dressed fairly normally, though she had forgone wearing a cloak like she normally did, and her light-sword was displayed prominently at her hip.

"We were in the area and decided that we simply had to take the opportunity to check on our children." Misaki said with a wide grin, gulping down the last of her tea and standing up to give the young prince one of her rib-cracking hugs. "So where are my daughters Tenchi?"

"They went to visit some friends." Tenchi gasped, trying to suck air back into his crushed lungs as the overly-affectionate Queen put him back down.

"Which friends?" Misaki asked, her rose-colored eyes narrowing just a hair, though her wide smile never faltered.

"Uh…" Tenchi started, rubbing the back of his head nervously… trying to decide which answer was least likely to make the overprotective queen throttle him where he stood. Realizing that he was just making her more suspicious with his stuttering he sighed heavily, "They went to visit Keith and Erin."

"By themselves?" Misaki asked, smile still in place, but looking strained… her right eye twitching the same way Ayeka's did just before one of her arguments with Ryoko turned into a physical fight.

"Yes." Tenchi replied meekly. "The rest of us were busy."

"Busy?" Misaki repeated quietly, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Funaho stayed quiet, simply watching the whole exchange, trying not to giggle at poor Tenchi's doomed expression.

"Tenchi?" Ryoko called sleepily, teleporting into the room, rubbing her golden eyes. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and little else, her long, perfectly toned legs displayed quite nicely by the short garment. "Come back to b…" the cyan haired girl started, her voice turning seductive before she registered the other people in the room and cut off mid-sentence, her face going cherry-red.

"Busy indeed." Funhao commented softly.

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"Why's that mutt still here?" Cathy asked, putting her groceries on the table and looking at the oversized dog seemed to dominate the center of their small living room. Keith raised his head and snorted in seeming response before settling down again. "I thought his owners would have picked him up by now."

"They would have, but Erin said that she had to wait until her uncle got out of work so she could get a ride." Erin responded absently, flipping through TV channels for something to watch.

"How old is this girl anyway?" Cathy asked frowning a little, "And why does she have to wait for her uncle to give her a ride?"

"I think she's about 8 or so." Erin replied after a seconds thought as she tried to remember what the little girl that had been at the restraint with Keith looked like. She couldn't help but frown a little at the thought of how young that made Keith when the kid was born. Was the girl adopted? "And I think her parents are out of town or something." She added hastily, hoping that the lie wasn't too transparent.

."Well I hope that someone's at least babysitting the girl then." Cathy noted, frowning a bit.

"Well another girl answered the phone when I called the first time," Carrie shrugged, trying to reassure her worry-prone friend. "I assume that whoever that was is the one watching her."

"So… how do you know this Erin kid anyway?" Cathy asked as she shut the fridge door. "I didn't think you spent much time hanging out with many little kids these days." she teased, smirking a bit as Carrie started to squirm a bit.

"I... uh, know her father." Carrie replied after a second's hesitation.

"I didn't think you were friends with anybody who had kids." Cathy said with a bit of a frown as she plopped down beside her roommate on the couch.

"Uh… I only met him a little while ago," Carrie replied, trying to stay as close to the truth as possible. Sometimes he could swear that Cathy could smell a lie, and she could already tell that her friend was starting to get suspicious.

"How long ago is a little while?" Cathy asked with a grin, brown eyes twinkling wickedly.

"Oh, ER's on!" she exclaimed, turning up the volume. Cathy just rolled her eyes; she'd get it out of her friend later. The girl had never been able to keep a secret from her.

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"How much longer?" Erin asked impatiently, reaching around the seat in front of her to tug on Mike's shirt to make sure she had his attention. "Can't you drive any faster?"

"No way! I only got my license a month ago Erin." Mike protested; his eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead. "If I get a speeding ticket Mom won't let me use the car again for weeks."

"Faster!" Erin demanded, kicking the back of his seat with a thud. Mike ignored her, counting to ten under his breath, reminding himself that she was just worried. Ayeka wasn't quite as patient.

"Erin!" she snapped, turning to look at the young girl. "That is not helping and most certainly will not make the trip take less time." She lectured in a stern voice. "The young lady said that your father was fine, and we will be there soon. So be patient just a little longer, okay?" she added, voice and expression softening as she looked at Erin's worried face.

Erin just scowled, looking out the window… but she did stop kicking the back of Mike's seat.

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"I think that's them." Cathy said, spotting a blue sedan as it parked in front of the apartment complex and several people she didn't recognize piled out. "And wow… you've got to see the hair on these girls."

"Their hair?" Carrie asked from her room as she dug around for a clean shirt… of course the damned wolf had had to do this on laundry day.

"Ah, it's definitely them, they're headed his way." Cathy replied, standing up and walking towards the door. "You'll see what I'm talking about in a second."

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"Hi, you're here for the mutt I take it?" The girl who answered the door was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, her curly black pulled back into a loose ponytail, a few stray curls framing a friendly coffee-toned face with laughing brown eyes and an infectious smile.

"_Dad?!" _Erin called in Jurian, wiggling past Cathy with barely a glance. "Where is he?"

"He's…" Cathy started to answer, chuckling softly at the little girl's urgency… "Well he was right there." She said, frowning a little as she looked around the suddenly dog-free living room.

"Ack!" came Carrie's startled yelp, accompanied by a thump and curse. "The dumb mutt's under the bed." She called after a second. Erin was in the room even before she'd finished the sentence.

"Well come on in I guess." Cathy invited after a second, stepping aside.

"Thank you very much." Ayeka said, bowing slightly before stepping inside and taking off her shoes out of sheer habit, Sasami following her big sister's example. Mike simply smiled a bit nervously, a slightly goofy expression on his face as he shook Cathy's offered hand. "We appreciate you watching Mayhem for us all day." she added, using the name they'd all agreed upon on the ride over after they were all done introducing each other.

"Mayhem?" Cathy repeated, smiling a bit in amusement as they walked towards Carrie's room. "I guess it fits though, if all those scars are any indication."

"Yes, he does seem to attract more than his fair share of trouble." Ayeka giggled softly as they walked towards the room Erin disappeared into.

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"What's the big hurry anyway?" Ryoko grumped from her place at Ryo-Ohki's controls. "And why can't they take their own damned ship."

"They didn't say." Tenchi replied with a sigh.

"They can't be this damned worried about Ayeka's ability to keep her legs shut around Keith." she snarled. "So what are they not telling us."

"So… still mad that they interrupted our weekend then?" Tenchi asked lightly, wincing a bit at the ex-pirates language.

"Hell yes." Ryoko scowled, "Aren't you?"

"A little annoyed." Tenchi admitted, walking towards the cyan-haired girl, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. Ryoko sighed, leaning back into his embrace.

"You know… there is one good thing about all of this." Ryoko murmured, her smile getting a little predatory as she reached back, running her hand through his short, spiky hair.

"Oh? And what's that?" Tenchi asked, laughing a bit as he waited for whatever suggestive idea the pirate was going to come up with next.

"You're going to have to tell Ayeka about us." Ryoko noted, rolling her eyes a little as Tenchi started a little. "If you don't Miskai and Funaho will. Somehow I doubt the Princess would appreciate that."

"No… I doubt she would." Tenchi sighed, wincing at the thought. "I'll tell her."

"Promise?" Ryoko purred happily, turning her head to look at the young prince.

"Promise." he replied, the cyan haired pirate's smile almost enough to dissipate the butterflies that had started trying to batter their way out of his stomach at the idea of telling Ayeka that he'd picked someone else. As demure and regal as the girl was normally, she had a temper to rival the Cyan girl in his arms… and the power to cause a lot of damage if she lost it.

"Myah!" Ryo-ohki cried, the sound reverberating in the control room as it blasted from no less than a dozen different control crystals, several new displays opening up on the main view-screen in front of them.

"What's that?" Tenchi asked curiously… despite years of experience, he couldn't actually understand Ryo-Ohki in any more than the most basic fashion, unlike Ryoko.

"Trouble."

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"Now what?" he murmured to himself, pulling a small computer out of his jacket pocket. It was connected by a series of relay drones to sensors on the late Krit'Lat's ship. Flipping open the small screen he scowled. He'd thought he'd had more of ahead start than that... and now they were going to RUIN all of his plans.

Well there was nothing for it, he wasn't the type to get involved in pitch physical battles like the one that was brewing. He'd just have to sit back and hope that his targets came out on top. After all, it would do him no good if someone else got the money.

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Her nostril's flared as she took a deep breath, testing the scents in the air. She couldn't stop her eyes from narrowing as she confirmed that the only normal humans in the room were Cathy and Keith's brother. She and Keith were wolves obviously… she didn't really consider it to be that unusual anymore really… but the two older girls, Ayeka and Sasami smelled like nothing she'd even run into before… and while Erin was definitely a close relative of Keith, there was something distinctly alien about the girl.

"I don't think he wants to come out kiddo." She noted from her seat on the floor where she'd landed after Keith had practically run her over. Erin was trying to Drag Keith… an animal 4 times her size… out from under her bed by his hind paws, the only part of him that was still visible other than his tail. How he'd even gotten under the bed in the first place was a bit of a wonder considering his size.

"I don't care." Erin growled, giving the leg she had her small hands clamped around another sharp tug, eliciting a yelp from her father before shouting something in what sounded like Japanese to Carrie's ears.

"Uh… is it really okay for her to pull on him that way?" Cathy asked nervously as the rest of the group entered the room. "He's an awful big dog you know…"

"The brat could use him or a trampoline and he wouldn't hurt a hair on her head," Mike said confidently, sighing as he leaned against the door, not sure how to help.

"_Sasami, could you and Michael get Miss Cathy into another room so I can talk to Miss Carrie alone please?" _Ayeka asked in Jurian as Mike talked to the Cathy, explaining the situation… or telling her the story they had made up to be more accurate.

"Excuse me Miss Cathy." Sasami interrupted, smiling cutely. "I'm a bit thirsty… can I have something to drink?"

"Sure thing honey, right this way." Cathy said smiling as Sasami took her and Mike's hands, practically dragging them out of them room. "I wanted to ask you how you and your sister got your hair like that anyway."

"So what exactly are you anyway?" Carrie asked as the door shut behind her roommate before Ayeka could say anything. "Because you certainly aren't human."

"Like you have any room to talk." Ayeka retorted, scowling slightly… were all Americans this blunt? "I and my sister are from a planet called Jurai."

"…You're aliens…?" she said incredulously. "Christ, as if my life wasn't weird enough already. Well how about you kiddo?" she asked, smirking a bit as she looked at Erin, who had given up temporarily as was sitting on the floor with a deep scowl on her face and her arms crossed over her thin chest. "You an alien too?"

"Half." Erin sighed; taking a quick look at the door to make sure it was still closed before playing with her watch for a few seconds. With a flicker her holo-disguise disappeared, her tail and long ears winking into sight… her skin darkening and taking on a softer appearance as the down layer of fur covering her became visible.

"Christ, how old was your father when you were born kiddo? 14?" Carrie exclaimed.

"I'm a lot younger than I look." Erin laughed, a little bitterly.

"Miss Carrie," Ayeka interjected before the curious woman could ask any more questions, "as much as I hate to interrupt, there are more important things to discuss at the moment… such as the walking carpet that seems to have taken up permanent residence underneath your bed."

"Yeah, what's wrong with my dad?" Erin exclaimed, her voice catching a bit. "And why the hell is he hiding from me under your bed!"

"I… I don't know why he's acting like this Kid." Carrie replied after a second's hesitation, reaching over to give the little girl's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "There's nothing really wrong with him, not physically anyway. We call it going feral."

"Go on." Ayeka encouraged, taking a seat on the bed, careful not to step on the furry tail that was sticking out from under it.

"It happens to all of us at least once or twice." Carrie started after a few seconds trying to get her thoughts together. "It's like only half of you wakes up, the wolf part. Afterwards, you remember what happened, and even why you did what you did… but when you're like that you're not really aware of things like you are normally."

"I take it you have experienced it before then?" Ayeka sighed, a little relieved.

"Yeah, it's a little disconcerting, but it's not that big a deal." Carrie shrugged, "There's nothing we can really do but wait for him wake up, so to speak."

"How long does it normally take?" Erin asked as she started to wiggle under the bed. Her own tail lashing back and forth, displaying her irritation.

"A few hours, a day or two, a few weeks…" Carrie sighed. "It all depends on him and whatever made him go feral n the first place." Ayeka would have replied… asked more questions, but the twin sonic booms that rocked the apartment and blew out several windows interrupted her.

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End Chapter 4

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	5. Chapter 5 : Akward Confessions

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Points of Conspiracy

Chapter 5

"Akward Confessions"

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He'd acquired her nearly 10,000 years ago, a Heranic Light Destroyer that was one of the few working starships left from the once war-like species warfleet. They'd been one of the most feared militaries in the galaxy until they'd gotten greedy and tried to steal several systems from the Jurian Empire.

They'd even held their own for a while… until the second generation destroyers had joined the battle. Then it turned into a one-sided slaughter. Ten battleships, born directly from Tsunami, the holy tree, cut through a battle line comprised of the heaviest ships the Heranic Navy had like it was made of tissue paper.

The rest of the navy scattered. Within two years, 90 percent of the survivors had surrendered along with the Heranic Government. The rest lingered, acting as pirates as they were slowly whittled down by the efforts of the Galaxy Police and Jurian Military taskforces.

That said, the "Fading Glory", as he'd renamed her, was a still a match for most ships twice her tonnage. Unfortunately the crystalline craft on his tail was not most ships, and he knew from painful past experience that Ryo-Ohki and her master Ryoko, were more than capable of swatting him out of the sky.

Not quickly though… and he grinned as the Faded Glory's sensors refined his target solution. Just two more minutes… and with that thought he kicked the ship into a hard climbing turn, evading a barrage from Ryo-Ohki's guns.

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"What's going on?" Washu yelled, storming onto the bridge as Ryoko threw Ryo-Ohki in a tight turn, trying to stay inside The Faded Glory's turn radius and maintain her target solution.

"Bounty hunter." Ryoko grunted distractedly, her golden eyes fixed intently on the targeting display in front of her.

"We think he's going after Ayeka and Sasami." Tenchi added worriedly, feeling helpless, trying to ignore the hint of nausea stirring in his stomach as the landscape flashed by dizzyingly outside Ryo-Ohki's main dome; the crystalline ship maneuvering through a series of tight turns.

"Well that would explain why the Queens are here." Washu noted calmly, though Tenchi could hear the hint of worry that crept into the pink-haired girl's voice as she opened up her holo-top computer. "Careful Ryoko, he just opened his missile-bays." She warned, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"I see it.!" Ryoko growled in response, a staccato burst of crimson energy lancing towards the other ship.

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Ayeka watched the black and red ship flash overhead, riding on a white-hot stream of plasma as it rocketed upward, Ryo-Ohki hot on its tail, weapons flashing. It only took a few seconds for them to disappear from sight, racing for space, but the sinking feeling in her stomach told here that they'd be back.. and soon.

"Does this place have a basement?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm as she looked at Carrie, barely noticing as the girl plucked glass from her arm, the wound closing almost instantly, not even leaving a scar behind.

"Yeah…" Carries nodded, wincing a bit as she pulled out another shard of glass, she may have healed quickly, but this ort of thing still hurt. That was the last of it though.

"Get everyone down there." Ayeka ordered, grabbing Erin's legs and dragging the young girl physically out from under it… much to Erin's displeasure. "NOW!" she snapped, when Carrie hesitated.

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There!, he almost howled in triumph as his targeting computers declared that they had a firing solution… but it was short lived as his targeting screens turned to fuzz. The stubborn bitch was jamming him! Well no matter she was too late anyway. With a defiant snarl he fed the firing solution his main computer had created into the deadly cargo waiting in his weapons bay. The signaled ready and he kicked hard on his rudder pedals, swinging his nose around to point down at the blue planet below.

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"Got Him!" Ryoko crowed as the other ship came to a near dead stop, its nose swinging back towards the planet below, letting several shots slam into its sleek black side, making the ship shake and stagger. But that was it, and it wasn't going to be enough.

"He's firing!" Washu warned, cursing as over three dozen missiles burst from the black ship's weapon bays.

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The swarm of missiles paused for the briefest of moments on the edge of the stratosphere; orienting themselves with the detailed targeting data they'd been fed. Comparing the data with information from their own simple visual sensors to figure out where they were and where they needed to go. The first wave, a dozen specially designed projectiles that carried chain-linked shield generators meant to limit collateral damage and focus the destructive energy of the second wave tenfold or more, activated their engines. Tiny, insanely overpowered things that would burn themselves out in seconds; the brilliant white lances of plasma they produced driving the missiles towards their final destination at hypersonic speeds.

The second wave hesitated for nearly half a second longer, an eternity by the standards of an AI, and that hesitation cost the swarm dearly. A massive burst of rapid fire energy tore through them, killing a dozen, 15, 18, 20, 22, of the lethal darts… but the survivors, still a half-dozen strong, streaked towards their target. Following the path sketched out by the first wave.

Ryo-Ohki was after them faster even than Ryoko could react, taking control of her systems from her Masters hands. Ryoko was inhumanly fast. She was faster. Precision shots flaring out as she battled her way through the thickening atmosphere, heat and turbulence almost blinding her sensors and making targeting impossible for anything other than an AI like her.

One missile vaporized. Two more were damaged and swerved off target, their internal systems making them self destruct in brilliant flares of plasma after they lost their target. Another was hit dead on, its warhead cooking off and taking out the missile closest to it.

Then she was out of time.

The first wave slammed into the ground in a tight circle, demolishing the corner of the single story apartment complex containing Carrie's apartment, and putting deep craters in the yard and street around it. The impact, despite the last second reverse burn of their engines to slow them down, was bad enough to register as a 2.0 earthquake on seismic sensors at the university over 50 miles away.

A brilliant blue force field flared to life inside the circle almost instantly, turning the apartment into a brilliant bulls-eye for the second wave. The last surviving member of the second wave hit dead center, it's primitive A.I. feeling the closest thing to joy it would ever feel as it fulfilled it's purpose. Its plasma warhead detonated, turning the area inside the force field into a unholy inferno hotter than the interior of the sun for nearly three seconds. The shield missiles focusing and sustaining the blast far longer than it would have lasted naturally. When they finally failed, soaking up most of the remaining energy, what was left of the blast was still enough to knock out power for a mile radius and fry every computer for another two.

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"Mmm… this is nice." Keith noted lazily, brushing a thick strand of hair out of Talia's eyes, examining her sleek, nude, form with a content smile as she rolled onto her side beside him in the bed, her silver cat's eyes sparkling as she grabbed his hand, kissing it before pressing it between her breasts.

"Yes. It is." She confirmed with a happy giggle. "I haven't had you to myself for this long since…" she trailed off her smile turning a little melancholy.

"Not since you died." Keith finished the thought, smiling sadly, pulling her closer, gently rolling her onto her back as he kissed her longingly… feeling her respond in kind. Focused entirely on her, he almost missed the huge scarred wolf running past them and into te shadows of his mind like the devil himself was chasing it.

"I was wondering where he went." Talia sighed, her image starting to get fuzzy along with the rest of the world around him. "Time for you to go my love." She murmured sadly, and he felt her lips on his one last time before everything was replaced by light and pain.

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"Is anyone hurt?" Ayeka asked, breathing heavily from the effort that maintaining her force-field had been during the missile hit, even if they had been outside the containment field. Though just barely. Even now she was maintaining it to prevent them from being buried in debris as the basement roof tried to collapse on top of them.

"_What happened?" _Sasami asked, rubbing her head, frowning as she noticed one of her long ponytails had been neatly cut in half by her sisters force-field, the ends of the light blue hairs, curled and charred from the heat.

"_Whoever was piloting that black ship tried to kill us it would seem."_ Ayeka sighed as her eyes adjusted to darkness, her force field the only source of light. Silently she counted heads, noting with relief that everyone was there, and no-one seemed to be too badly hurt, an observation that was reinforced as everyone responded to her initial question with varying degrees of assent. "_I have no idea why though."_

"I think my ankles broken." Mike reported, wincing as he accidentally moved his foot, jarring it. "But I think I got the worst of it."

"Where's the mutt?" Cathy asked, standing up, too shaken by what had just happened to notice the faint glimmer of the force-field overhead. Ayeka and Erin both visibly started, Mike barely managing to keep his reaction a little better hidden as they all looked around the small chamber.

"What mutt?" The question sounded more like a groan than actual speech. Looking around Ayeka spotted a small movement in one corner… a pale hand emerging from what had looked like a discarded blanket, but as more and more of the person underneath was revealed, she realized what it really was. Shed fur. She couldn't quite stop herself from blushing as Keith sat up gingerly, his chest covered in new bruises and shallow lacerations, completely naked… only some of his discarded fur keeping him even remotely decent.

"Dad!" Erin called, throwing her arms around her father's bruised chest, making him inhale nosily, wincing as he felt a not-quite healed rib creak. "_Stupid stupid stupid…." _she sobbed repeatedly, leaning back and wiping her eyes… long ears back against her head as she berated her father, tail lashing angrily.

"What the hell…" Cathy asked, sitting down abruptly… her chocolate colored skin looking pale even in the dark as she tried to process what she was seeing. "I don't feel so good…."

"So…" Keith started, looking around the room, expression sheepish. Even as they watched, his wounds were fading slowly but surely away. "What did I miss?"

"That's what I want to know." Ryoko interjected, her head and shoulders poking through the cracked ceiling just outside the radius of Ayeka's force-field.

Cathy fainted.

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"This will not be fun to explain to our local contacts." Funaho sighed. "I do not envy the ambassador."

"We have an Ambassador stationed on Earth?" Ayeka asked, a little surprised, wincing a bit as Washu applied an antiseptic spray to a scrape on her hand. After Ryoko had found them, Ryo-Ohki had teleported the entire group plus the remnants of the shield missiles out and left the area in a hurry to avoid attracting any more attention than they already had. Or at least, avoid giving the locals any more pictures or video footage to sell to the local news channels. "Anyone I know?"

"No Ayeka dear," Funaho responded with one of her typical soft smiles. "It's a young man named Loranko. He was assigned the spot as part of his training. He will be getting somewhat more than he signed on for this week it seems."

"I would say so." Ayeka noted with a sardonic smile. "Thank you Washu-chan."

"No problem Princess." Washu grinned teasingly as she slapped a synthetic skin bandage onto the scrape. "With Ryoko in no shape to fight with you for so long, I was getting out of practice patching you two up anyway."

"Very funny." Ayeka replied, rolling her amethyst eyes even as Funaho giggled. She was about to say something else when the door slid open and Sasami walked in, dragging a reluctant Erin behind her.

"Washu, Erin has something you should look at." Sasami announced in a matter of fact voice.

"I do not!" Erin protested, looking at the door anxiously. "I'm perfectly fine." She added, though even Ayeka could see that she was holding her left arm oddly.

"Sure you are." Washu drawled, her grin getting even wider as she approached the thin girl. "That's why you're holding your arm, you're pale, and shaking a little. I'm betting you've got a hairline fracture there, and it's starting to hurt now that the adrenaline's wearing off."

"It'll heal on its own." Erin protested. "I've got a little of dad's healing powers."

"Not really." Washu corrected, her voice getting a bit more comforting. "If you've inherited any of your dad's abilities, they won't kick in until you hit puberty, and you're a ways off from that still."

"Fine." Erin gave in grudgingly, making Sasami giggle a little at the tough-girl act. "If that's what it takes to get you guys off my case."

"Sasami?" Ayeka asked, a horrific thought entering her head as she counted the people in the room. Aside from Funaho, Sasami, Washu, and Erin; Cathy and Carrie were both sleeping off the shock of the past half hours events on two beds in the back, and Mike was dozing as a machine knitted the shattered bone in his ankle back into its proper shape. "Where is mother?"

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"Hello Mayhem." Misaki greeted quietly, the bubbly personality that Sasami had inherited from her nowhere to be seen as he stepped into the hallway, pulling on a newly replicated shirt as he started towards the main deck to see where everyone else had gone. "Didn't I… request, that you stay away from my daughter?"

"The name's Keith." He growled, eye twitching a little. He was not having a good day, and running into the second Queen of Jurai was pretty much guaranteed to make it worse. "And you didn't request anything. You TOLD me that if I didn't stay away from your daughter you'd have me thrown into a star."

"And did you think I was joking?" she snapped tersely.

"No, you're definitely enough of a bitch to try and control your daughter's life like that." Keith snapped back, his canines lengthening into fangs and his eyes flashing angrily. Calling a queen of the single most powerful political entity in the known universe a bitch was typically a good way to commit suicide, but he'd never been one to think about what he was saying when he got angry.

"Both of you stop that!" Ayeka's voice rang out, practically echoing in the narrow hallway, stopping Misaki with her hands barely an inch from Keith's throat and his claws about halfway to the Queen's midsection.

"But Ayeka-chan!" Misaki protested, pouting childishly at her Ayeka as she took a step away from Keith and towards her daughter. "Did you hear what he called me?"

"Mother," Ayeka snapped, ignoring her, "Keith is my friend, and our relationship, whatever it may be; is not any of your business!" Her expression was livid as she lectured her mother, the comment about their relationship making the blue-haired Queen blanch.

"And YOU!" she snapped, turning on Keith even before the smirk on his face finished forming. "If I EVER hear you call my Mother something like that again, I will throw you out an airlock myself!"

Keith and Misaki glanced at each other guiltily, nodding slightly in a silent truce as they mumbled apologies.

"Now Mother," Ayeka said, taking a deep breath to calm herself," Aunt Funaho and the others are waiting in the medical bay. Me and Keith will be there as soon as we get Tenchi-sama and Ryoko. Then you and Aunt Funaho can explain exactly what is going on."

"Very well then." Funaho agreed after a brief hesitation, shooting Keith a warning glare. "Though I think we are going to have a talk about the proper way to speak to ones Mother later." She added cooly, her tone making Ayeka wince, childhood memories of their past "talks" still fresh in her mind.

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He almost felt like shooting the next living thing he saw. Almost. Even as frustrated as he was, couldn't bring himself to be that pointlessly cruel and violent. At least the need to operate stealthily was gone for the moment however. That would help.

Brushing himself off he stepped out his hiding place among the small copse of trees that dominated the center of the park near the apartment that his overly violent, and rather incompetent, colleague had destroyed and hit the call button for his borrowed ship. Staying in sensor range of Ryo-Ohki without attracting attention would be difficult, but not impossible. Hopefully his targets were headed for more civilized space where he'd be less noticeable.

If not… well he'd burn that bridge when he came to it.

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"Good Girl." Ryoko said fondly, giving Ryo-Ohki's main control crystal an affectionate pat. "Keep looking for Kiyone and Mihoshi while we go see what the Royals have to say, okay?"

"Myah!" the cabbit-ship responded cheerfully, the crystal rubbing up against the golden eyed girls hand like a cat. "Myah?" she added in a more questioning tone.

"Of course you can listen in. Just don't get distracted." Ryoko laughed as she started walking towards Tenchi where he was waiting by the passage to the lower decks. Normally she would have simply teleported wherever she wanted to go in the ship, but since her beloved was willing to walk with her. Smiling at him hugely, she grabbed his hand tightly, leaning against him as they stepped into the elevator.

"So we're all set then?" Tenchi asked, more for something to say than anything else. He may have been getting used to the fact that he was dating, and on when the opportunity arose, becoming much more intimate with the lithe girl next to him; but he still wasn't used to the easy way she displayed affection in public. Even knowing that they weren't alone in the ship, even if there was no-one else in sight, was enough to make him stiffen up as she pressed against him. Though, he had to admit, it did feel rather nice having her… generous… upper anatomy pressed against his arm like that.

"All set." She nodded, a mental command starting the elevator platform downwards, slowly though. She felt like taking her time. After all, their weekend together had been cut short before she'd gotten anywhere near enough time alone with the boy.

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"What exactly is wrong with you?" Ayeka asked once her mother was out of sight, practically hissing the question as she glared at the shaggy young man standing in front of her.

"Alright already!" Keith snapped back, getting annoyed. "I shouldn't have mouthed off to your Mom like that, I get it. I'm sorry." He added, glaring back with a low, involuntary, growl.

"It is not that! I am quite used to you and my mother not liking each other at this point." Ayeka exclaimed, throwing up her hands in frustration. "I am worried about you." She added, her tone softening a little.

"Worried?" Keith asked quietly, his own annoyance replaced by confusion and a growing sense of dread. "You mean the whole wolf thing? What did I do?"

"What did you…?" Ayeka trailed off incredulously. "Do not tell me that you don't remember?"

"I think I do… sort of. It's all really fuzzy." Keith shrugged helplessly. "It's like trying to remember a dream. It keeps trying to slip away. I don't know if I remember everything."

"Do you remember hiding from your Daughter under the bed of some woman that you barely met?" Ayeka growled, brow furrowed in an odd mix of worry and annoyance. "Why did you feel that you had to run in the first place? Did you think that we would not understand!?"

"Oh come on Ayeka! It's not like I was thinking logically about what the hell I was doing. And I wasn't hiding from Erin for god's sake." He shot back, frustrated.

"It has nothing to do with logic, it is about TRUST." Ayeka replied insistently. "Do you trust us or not? And what were you hiding from then?" she added as an afterthought.

"I trust you." Keith sighed, slumping a bit. "I think the wolf was just looking for other wolves."

"The wolf? Since when have you and the wolf been different things?" Ayeka snorted derisively, scowling at him. "And you have not answered my other question. Who exactly were you hiding from?"

"You." Keith snapped, growling in frustration at the crown princess's doggedness. "I think I was hiding from you."

"From me?" Ayeka asked bewildered, "Why in Tsunami's name would you hide from me?"

"I don't know!" Keith yelled, frustrated. He immediately regretted it as Ayeka's expression darkened again, her eyes glinting dangerously. "I think the wolf, that I, didn't want you to see me like that."

"Like what? Like a big dog?" Ayeka questioned, the confusion she was feeling plain on her pretty face. "Why…? I mean, I have certainly seen you looking much scarier than that!" Keith sighed, leaning back against the wall and looking at her intently. His silver green eyes meeting the princess's wine-colored ones and holding her gaze.

"You know that I'm in love with you, right?" He said after a few seconds of silence, his statement making her blush hotly and freeze, eyes going a little wide. "I don't flirt with you like I do just for the hell of it. I'm not just trying to get you into bed. I love you." He repeated, looking down at the floor, blushing a little himself.

"W…what does that have to do with…" Ayeka stammered, trying to pull her suddenly scattered thoughts back together. She knew that he was interested, that he had more than a little desire for her… but love? "I mean... I'm flattered… I…"

"I know you don't like the wolf side of me." Keith continued, smiling a bit bitterly at her reaction. "I think that's why the wolf didn't want you to see me like that, you have enough reasons to not like me without seeing me reduced to a dumb animal."

"A rather scruffy animal at that." Ayeka responded softly after a long silence, smiling tentatively as she reached out to touch the scruffy ex-con on his arm lightly, making him look up at her. "I do not dislike that part of you Keith, I simply do not understand it very well. You may want to explain what happened to your daughter however."

"She thinks I was hiding from her too?' Keith sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to get a real response on the other issue out of the violet-haired girl today. "I guess I should go talk to her then. I'll meet you in the med-bay with others, okay?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Ayeka confirmed, letting out a nearly silent sigh of relief that he wasn't going to try and press her on the confession. She felt like she was going to throw up from the butterflies swarming in her stomach as it was. She didn't know how she felt. She certainly didn't have an answer for him. "I shall go see what is taking Tenchi and Ryoko so long and be there in just a minute."

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"Mmmmm….." Ryoko purred, her body pressed full-length against her beloved. Her slender arms draped around his shoulders and hands tangled in his hair as they kissed. He'd protested at first of course, he always did if they were anyplace even remotely public, but only until she'd pressed her lips against his. He was even starting to really get into it now, kissing back, his hands exploring her body in that wonderfully gentle way of his. Touching her in places that made her squirm in appreciation. Prompting her to guide them to even naughtier places with her own hands.

"_Ryoko-sister!" _Ryo-Ohki called telepathically, reluctant to interrupt her big sister when she and Tenchi-brother were obviously having fun. Ryoko ignored her, completely absorbed in what she and Tenchi were doing with each other. "_RYOKO!" _the cabbit-ship repeated insistently, her mental voice all but shouting now.

"_What?_" Ryoko snapped distractedly, not breaking the kiss even as she responded telepathically, moaning out loud as Tenchi's mouth left hers and found her neck… nibbling delightfully, completely distracting her from Ryo-Ohki's response. "_What was that Ryo-Ohki?_" She asked again.

"_You're there_." Ryo-Ohki repeated, sighing in defeat as the elevator doors slid open in response to the person on the other side stabbing the up button for the dozenth time. Ryo-Ohki would have kept them closed longer like Ryoko-sister had wanted, but Ayeka had started threatening to plow them up. That would have stung.

"Tenchi-sama!" The strangled cry was more than enough to get Ryoko's attention. Tenchi's too. He froze completely, the hand still cupping Ryoko's breast completely forgotten as his life flashed before his eyes.

Ryoko had thought about a moment like this for years now, thought of all the ways she was going to rub the spoiled brat of a Princess's nose in it. But seeing Ayeka's expression, looking like she was about to faint, tears starting to well up in her violet eyes, and suddenly all those things seemed childish and petty. So she just said the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh… Tenchi has something he needs to tell you Ayeka."

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End Chapter 5


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